I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alarmed cardholder and more specifically to a cardholder having a plurality of pockets and equipped with circuitry to cause an audible or visible alarm to be emitted if a card which had been withdrawn has not been returned to its pocket.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Cardholders having alarm circuitry are described in my Israeli Patent No. 68801 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,865 as having a plurality of flexible pockets wherein conductors are fastened to the inside of the pockets and connected to an alarm circuit. Withdrawal of a card from a pocket allows the conductors in that pocket to come into contact thereby closing an electrical circuit and initiating a timer in the alarm circuit. If the circuit is not interrupted, i.e., the card is not returned to the pocket within a fixed period of time, the alarm circuit causes an alarm to be emitted. While such a cardholder alerts the user to absence of a card from a pocket, the alarm may be given before the user has finished using the card if the card is not returned to the cardholder before the period of time has elapsed. Thus, a signal may be caused to be emitted while the cardholder is still in the hand of the owner and before the owner closes the cardholder up and returns it to a pocket, wallet, or handbag.